


never worse but never better

by komhmagnus



Series: Flufftober 2018 [17]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Cooking, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Flufftober, Grocery Shopping, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e10 Erchomai, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 14:53:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komhmagnus/pseuds/komhmagnus
Summary: for flufftober day 17:  fun





	never worse but never better

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Wonderland by Taylor Swift

Magnus pressed into Alec as soon as he stepped into the loft. His arms wrapped around Alec’s waist as he buried his face into his boyfriend’s shoulder. He smiled into his shirt when Alec’s arms slid over his own back without hesitation, his thumb drawing gentle circles into the fabric of his own shirt.

“Rough day?” Alec whispered into his hair.

“Yes.”

Alec hummed, tightening his grip. Magnus didn’t say anything else, and Alec didn’t push. He would eventually, Magnus knew, but for now he seemed to understand that Magnus was still trying to figure it all out himself, and he was doing everything else he could in the meantime to offer support and comfort. Magnus had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life.

It’s been almost a week since he’d returned from Edom. Almost a week since he’d given up his magic to save Alec’s parabatai--to save a part of Alec. He still didn’t regret it, but that didn’t mean the adjustment was easy.

Within just a few days, how many times had he snapped his fingers to turn on a light or summon a fresh coffee? How many times had he begun to think where he might portal the two of them for dinner before finally remembering? How many former clients had knocked on his door only to be turned away? He didn’t know.

Underlying it all was the sheer sense of loss. It was like he’d lost a limb, a piece of himself so ingrained that he’d never noticed how he’d taken it for granted.

“Have you eaten today?” Alec asked, breaking the silence and pulling Magnus out of his thoughts. He almost laughed. Just a few days ago, an arrow had been lodged in Alec’s chest, and Alec was taking care of  _ him _ .

“Just toast this morning.” Alec gave him a look. A you’re-always-getting-on-me-for-not-eating kind of look. “And coffee,” he added sheepishly.

Alec tugged him towards the kitchen. “Come on, what do you want to do for dinner?”

Magnus sighed. “Anything but takeout again. I’ll even eat your stew,” he teased.

“Okay, I’ll get started on it,” Alec deadpanned.

“No, please,” Magnus laughed as Alec opened the fridge. He frowned. “What?” Magnus asked.

“There’s basically nothing in here. No wonder we’ve been eating takeout.”

Magnus sighed and grabbed a couple menus off the counter. “Alright then, what are you feeling, darling? Chinese? Pizza?”

Alec shook his head and pulled the menus from Magnus’s hands. “Nope, come one.” He tugged Magnus towards the door and handed him his coat before shrugging into his own.

“Alexander? Where are we going?”

Alec grinned. “Grocery shopping.”

“Alexander, I don’t think that’s—”

“Magnus, it’ll be fun, I promise. We’re just going to get some basics and then when we get home, we can cook  _ together _ so it won’t end up awful,” Alec smirked. He held out his hand. “Trust me?”

Magnus sighed and took Alec’s hand. “Always.”

***

Magnus despised fluorescent lighting, he decided. And the store itself was far too cold. How did mundanes do this every week? 

Alec seemed perfectly in his element, Magnus noticed. Which was odd, considering the man was almost on par with Isabelle’s cooking.

“What do you want to make for dinner?” Alec asked after they’d perused the produce section and gathered a small collection of vegetables and fruit. “Pasta would be easy and probably faster, if you’re hungry.”

“That sounds perfect,” Magnus said, suddenly feeling how empty his stomach truly was now that they were surrounded by food. His stomach growled just loud enough for Alec to hear. Magnus glared as he doubled over the cart in laughter.

“I can’t believe you called this fun,” Magnus said after they’d circled the store and grabbed a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce. Now they were headed towards the meats in search of ground beef to shape meatballs.

“It is fun,” Alec insisted. “I’m having loads of fun right now.”

“Liar.”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge, Mr. Bane? Because I gladly accept.” With that, he gave the cart a quick shove and stepped onto the bottom, riding it like a scooter as it zipped down the aisle. “Wee,” he grinned as Magnus hurried his step to catch up.

“You are ridiculous,” Magnus groaned.

“You love it.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny,” Magnus answered.

***

“Thank you,” Magnus said later as they ate their spaghetti cross-legged in front of the coffee table, a rerun of Project Runway on the TV.

“For what?” Alec asked, reaching for his glass of wine.

“For today. For taking me grocery shopping and cooking with me. For taking my mind off of…well, you know.”

Alec scooted closer and placed a gentle hand on Magnus’s knee. “You don’t have to thank me, babe. I’m always going to be here for you. I might not always know what I’m doing, but I do know that you are my world and I hate seeing you in pain, so I’m going to do whatever I can to lessen that.”

Magnus leaned his head on Alec’s shoulder, turning to press a kiss to his neck. “I don’t deserve you.”

Alec gave a surprised laugh. “I think it’s the other way around, but we can agree to disagree on that one.” He pressed a kiss into Magnus’s hair. “I love you.”

Magnus closed his eyes, at peace for the first time in several days. “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! comments and kudos are appreciated <3  
> find me on tumblr and twitter @banesapothecary


End file.
